IVF baby at age 72 is unethical, say doctors

According to the rulebook of the Indian Council of Medical Registry (ICMR), the combined age of a couple aspiring for a child through in vitro fertilization should not exceed 100 years.TNN | Updated: May 12, 2016, 08:13 IST

Benga luru: Haryana couple Daljinder Kaur, 72, and her husband Mohinder Singh Gill, 79, may be celebrating their bundle of joy in the dusk of their lives, but IVF experts and gynaecologists in Bengaluru are frowning on the process, terming it completely unethical.

According to the rulebook of the Indian Council of Medical Registry (ICMR), the combined age of a couple aspiring for a child through in vitro fertilization should not exceed 100 years. "The Gill couple has a combined age of 150 years, and it is impossible they could have had the baby through their own gametes, as the mother experienced menopause 20 years ago. There is no chance she could produce her own eggs. A man's sperm at the age of 78-79 cannot be of fertile quality. This sends the wrong message to society, that anyone can give birth to a child at any age. We condemn such a practice," says Dr Bina Vasan, past president of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), Karnataka chapter.

After 46 years of marriage, the Haryana couple had almost given up hope of ever having a child. Media reports mention the couple had the child through their own eggs and sperms. The infant was delivered on April 19, 2016.

Doctors point out that it sets unrealistic expectations among couples yearning for kids. "It perhaps makes a great headline, but we are living in the real world. Counselling is a must for couples who aspire for IVF. As a mother grows older, there are chances that she passes on comorbidity to the baby as well. We need to consider the welfare of the unborn child. A mother in her 70s can face cardiac and bone-related problems that can affect the baby. While working in the UK, we had a case where a 55-year-old grandmother delivered a child to help her daughter as a surrogate mother. The daughter's eggs were used but injected in the mother's uterus," says Dr Manisha Singh, HoD, reproductive medicine and andrology.

She currently has a 47-year-old patient who married late, and is in the first trimester of her pregnancy. "A woman can still have a baby in her late 40s," she adds.

Dr Devika Gunasheela, infertility specialist and managing director of Gunasheela Hospital, says she would not have taken up the Gill case. "As doctors, we should think about the child as well. In this case, parental interaction with the child becomes very difficult because of their age. As a mother, what is her moral obligation to the child?" she questions.

According to Dr Kamini Rao, founder and medical director of Milann, and pioneer in the field of assisted reproduction, it's mere societal pressure which drove the senior citizen to become a mother. "It's a holistic statement to say God will look after the baby. We should not bring orphans into this world. How is it possible to get her own fertile eggs at the age of 72? We, the members of ISAR India, have been discussing this on our WhatsApp group to condemn such unrealistic, unethical practices," said Dr Rao.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Earlier people used to visit a pharmacy or a medical store only when they used to be sick but today there is an evolving trend. Now people have suddenly realized that there is a huge potential in being healthy.